1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to surgical instruments, and more particularly, to an endoscopic grasping instrument having jaw members advantageously designed to engage and firmly secure a surgical implement at a desired orientation to facilitate manipulation of the implement about the surgical site, and/or mounting of the instrument to other surgical devices, for example, to a surgical stapler.
2. Background of Related Art
Circular anastomosis is the surgical joining of separate hollow body organ sections so that the sections intercommunicate. Typically, the anastomosis procedure follows surgery in which a diseased or defective section of hollow tissue is removed and the remaining end sections are to be joined. In accordance with such procedures, the operative tissue is exposed by making at least one extensive tissue incision, in the body cavity wall and folding the cut tissue back to provide access to the surgical site. The diseased section of the organ is removed thereby leaving two separate end sections of organ to be thereafter fastened by anastomosis by means of a stapling instrument. The stapling instrument drives a circular array of staples through the end sections and simultaneously cores out any overlapping tissue to free the tubular passages.
Examples of such instruments for performing anastomosis of hollow organs are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,304,236, 4,379,457, 4,573,468, 4,576,167, 4,603,693 and 4,646,745, the entirety of each of which is incorporated herein by reference. In instruments of the types exemplified by these patents, opposed end portions of the organs to be stapled are clamped between an anvil component and a staple holding component (i.e., staple cartridge), both of which are located at the distal end of the anastomosis instrument. The clamped tissue is stapled by driving one or more staples from the staple cartridge so that the ends of the staples pass through the tissue and are clinched by the anvil component.
In a typical application of joining first and second intestinal sections together, the intestinal section in question is removed leaving the first and second intestinal end sections to be joined by anastomosis. The stapling instrument, having the anvil component operatively coupled thereto, is applied to the operative site. Each end of the intestinal sections to be attached is then secured to their respective stapler cartridge and anvil assembly by a well-known purse string stitch to cause the tissue portions to tighten and to remain on the apparatus in position for permanent attachment by the staples. Thereafter, the anvil component is manually brought into close proximity to the staple cartridge. The instrument is fired and the intestinal sections are attached by circular rows of staples or fasteners.
In some applications of the circular anastomosis technique, it is necessary to utilize a surgical instrument in which the anvil component, typically an anvil assembly comprised of an anvil head and a shaft, is detachably mounted to the staple cartridge. In such cases, the stapling instrument is introduced either surgically or transanally into the first intestinal section without the anvil assembly in place. The anvil assembly is subsequently surgically inserted within the second intestinal section. Both intestinal sections are then secured respectively to the anvil assembly and stapler cartridge by a drawstring type suture. It is then necessary to grasp and hold the shaft of the anvil assembly in order to properly mount the anvil assembly or component onto or within the cartridge assembly portion of the instrument. The instrument is then fired to complete the anastomosis.
However, the task of grasping the anvil and mounting it to the anastomosis instrument has proven to be quite difficult, particularly in restricted operative sites which are surrounded by close organs, tissue, etc. Conventional means incorporate the use of a conventional forceps or similar device. However known forceps typically include flat forceps jaw surfaces which are not suitable for grasping a round implant such as an anvil or anvil shaft. Also, the grasper jaws typically are disposed along the longitudinal axis of the forceps. Such a configuration often requires ample space in the abdominal cavity to grasp and manipulate the instrument. Further, the presence of body fluids, blood, etc. also complicate the procedure.
Accordingly, the present disclosure is directed to an endoscopic surgical instrument having jaws which are adapted to provide a secure grip of the shaft of or for an anvil together with enhanced freedom of movement of the surgical instrument within the patients' body without slippage and/or interference with body organs or tissue of the patient, or other obstructions. Further, the surgical jaws are suitably disposed to provide improved holding of a cylindrical or rod-like object at a desired orientation in which the longitudinal central axis of the cylindrical or rod-like object is substantially parallel or slightly oblique with respect to the longitudinal central axis of the elongated shaft of the surgical instrument. Such a configuration requires less space in the abdominal cavity to grasp and manipulate the instrument. Yet further, the anvil shaft is suitably designed to facilitate mounting of the shaft to the anastomosis instrument.